A Fair Deal
by unrequitedexistence
Summary: "I need a drink." Emma finally said.


There used to be seasons. Summer used to follow Spring before allowing Autumn to come by to announce its older brother's arrival, Winter. There used to be sadness and happiness, ups and downs, love and hate.

Then the clock started ticking.

Everything became nothing and nothing everything. In a blink of an eye, dreams became nightmares, and nightmares became truth, became reality. The balance was broken. Once and for all.

And so the water fell in love with the fire, the moon fell in love with the sun, and the lamb fell in love with the wolf. Enemies lying in each other's arms and then in each other's blood. Every thought a second, and nothing more. Nothing everlasting, no forever and ever.

Just _now_.

Just _here_.

It is two in the morning and it is definitely way too hot in Storybrook. Even the stars seem to have melted away, leaving a lonely moon filled with doubts, its self-esteem threatening a waxing gibbous.

Regina is alone. Where is Henry? He's at a friend's. Yes, for once she is actually certain that he is not yet again spending the night at Emma's. The thought of him being away from fairytales and curses calms her down. He's a child, he deserves some peace, he deserves to have some innocent fun.

It's not just about him though, even if it should be. It's also about her, Regina. Every second Henry spends with Emma, is another second he spends away from her, either physically or emotionally. Every second Henry spends away from her, Regina, is another second she loses, another opportunity she loses for making him see that he is the most important thing she has. The _only_ thing she has.

Evil bitch? Sure. For you and me and the rest of the world. But to Henry? No. Henry is the only thing she doesn't regret. If only he could see that, if only he could see beyond everything else. She has been trying, perhaps too hard, to make him see, but he is blind to her love, he got lost in the darkness between her evil appearance and her loving heart. Who can blame him? Even Regina gets lost at times, even Regina questions her own ability to love, at times, and it's not easy to find your way back once you have fallen into complete darkness. It's not easy... but it can be worth it. If only he could see that... But no, he seems to be completely oblivious, completely intoxicated with Emma... just like the rest of the town. But Regina doesn't care about the rest the town, she only cares about him. Her everything. Her _only_ thing. Her _only_ reminder of the humanity left in her.

She sighed deeply at the thoughts that kept crossing her mind. They didn't come alone, they all brought up memories that seemed more like dreams, more like wishes than reality. This night was supposed to be _all _about her, and somehow the only thing she could seem to focus on was the only thing she couldn't have with her at the moment.

Yet another sigh. She had been sitting on Henry's bed for the past few minutes, her nose buried in his pillow that she held in her arms. She put it down, careful to make sure she left it exactly where she had found it. She didn't want him to know she had been there. He wouldn't take it was a sign that she missed him. Instead, he would accuse her of spying on him. She was tired of being accused of everything. Yes, she was mostly guilty, but she was not the only one. Not that it makes it any better, but it doesn't make it as bad. We all makes mistakes, we are all human.

No, she is not _just _human, but she _is_ human.

She looked around _her _boy's room once more before leaving, closing the door, and her mind, behind her. It was time to disconnect, time to take her thoughts elsewhere. She went to her room. Once there, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top. Couldn't be any more different from her usual attire but hey, this was one of those rare moments when she could free herself, she could let go of everything and be _plain_, _plain_ human.

The world was sleeping. _Her _world was sleeping, dreaming of the lives she had taken away from them, dreaming of the fairytales which had once been true on their flesh. Sometimes she wished that she too could forget everything she had been through. But what would be the point? Instead, she chose this, nights in which she pretended not to remember, not to know. She was just another woman in a world of men, just another _soul_, just another _person_. And to be quite honest, the simplicity of these moments, fitted her perfectly.

She put her running shoes on and grabbed her iPod before leaving the house.

Quite interesting, the idea of going for a run on one of the hottest nights of the year, wouldn't you say? To Regina, it sounded like a brilliant idea. Nothing had ever made as much sense as this. She wouldn't have to run for long before starting to get all sweaty, before her muscles started to hurt and complain, before she started to feel exhausted and her body begged her to stop. After all, that was that she was seeking. Exhaustion. Hopefully it would leave her numb and that numbness would drive her to a comatose state that would keep the nightmares away once she found her way to bed.

Once she reached the town's center, she looked up at the clock. The indicator moved. Another minute had gone by, another 60 seconds had gone by and she was still there... Emma was still there, still there trying to take her son away. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She had promised herself she would try to avoid that subject, that she would try to keep her thoughts away from Emma.

But yet again, it wasn't just about Henry, even if it should be. It was also about her, Emma. There were mixed feelings when there should be no feelings whatsoever. There was something about her... was it _hope_? Was Regina looking for a way out of her own curse? Perhaps. Perhaps not. And here you are, waiting for me to go further into this subject, but I can't, for while Regina closed her eyes, she kept running... and she fell.

"Fuck." She muttered under her breath before slowly attempting to get up. "Ouch." Her knee was bleeding. She sighed as she watched the red blood running down her leg. Ironic, huh? One would think that so much evil would cause her heart to rot and her blood to go dark as the night. Oh well, something had to go wrong, right? Something always has to go wrong before everything somehow goes right. Blame the thinking, Regina.

So she did, ignoring the pain and turning around, increasing the pace. It was time to go home and try the magic pills that her doctor had suggested. Perhaps they would help. Perhaps there was magic in this world, after all. Or so she hoped for. Or not.

What Regina didn't know, what she wasn't aware of, was that she was being watched. The sheriff, Ms Swan, was pulling an all-nighter at the office.

From a distance, and at first, Emma had simply seen a woman falling as she ran. Only when she moved closer to the window, only when she focused on the woman, did she realize that it wasn't just _any_ woman, it was the Mayor. That was when she changed her mind. Yes, she had actually considered going to check on the woman but as soon as she recognized the familiar figure, she changed her mind. As simple as that.

Or at least that was what she was choosing to tell herself, anything else would makes things too complicated. Why else would she be frozen on the spot? Perhaps because she had never seen the Mayor in so little clothes? Perhaps because she didn't want to admit that she looked sexy? She had to confess that she was rather pleasantly surprised with the view. But. She shouldn't even be admiring it. What was wrong with her? Was it the tank top or the shorts? Nah, no. It was definitely the heat... Right?

She rested her head against the window as she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. What was wrong with her? She hated that woman, right? But then again, what did attraction have to do with hate? The two concepts aren't mutually exclusive, are they? Wait, why was she even considering the attraction in the first place? If only she had been drinking... that would make it a lot easier to explain. How else would she possibly justify the fact that she wanted to go after the Mayor? It was definitely not out of pity. So what else? Well, she was the sheriff and she had witnessed the fall. If it were anyone else, she would have rushed after the person, right? Just to make sure he or she was fine, right? It was her duty, yes? It had to be for she was already in her car, driving towards the Mayor's house. Just to check her out. No, just to check up on her. After all, it was her duty.

She reduced the speed as her eyes met Regina's running figure. Bloody hell, hadn't the woman just fallen? How could she be already up and running like that? Couldn't she even _pretend_ to be human? Emma rolled her eyes at her own thoughts and stopped the car by the side of the road.

"Madam Mayor?" She asked. No response. Was she being purposely dense? "Madam Mayor?" She repeated, raising her voice. As the mayor kept on running, she decided to sprint to her, touching her arm carefully as soon as the other woman was in touching distance.

Completely lost in the music, Regina almost fell _yet _again. Her heart had skipped a beat at the touch. What was going on? For a moment she was confused, completely unaware of her surroundings, but she quickly got back on her feet, her body instantly tensing as she got ready to deal with her harasser.

She took her headphone off and started yelling as she turned to face the intruder, "Are you trying to kill..." She stopped midsentence as her eyes found the worried face of Emma Swan. "Of course you are." She finished, rolling her eyes at Emma. Then it suddenly hit her. "Is Henry okay?"

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Henry?" She was suddenly confused. What had Henry to do with this? "Are _you _okay?" She asked, trying to keep her eyes focused on Regina's.

_Focus. Do not look at her sweaty body. Remember, you hate her, she has your son. But look, she thought your worried look was because of Henry and she was instantly worried as well. She cares. She loves him. No, she doesn't love anyone. But god, I love her... look at that body! Look at that sin oh so ready to be committed. FOCUS EMMA._

"Well, I certainly was. Until you tried to scare me to death, that is." Regina said, resting her hands on her hips as she tried to catch her breath.

Emma was almost regretting her decision of following the mayor when she decided to allow her eyes to map the almost naked body that stood in front of her. As if the heat wasn't enough! _WHY WHY WHY._

"Sheriff Swan?" Regina raised her eyebrow.

"You fell..." She started before yet again getting lost on the oh so not natural, yet oh so delicious thoughts.

"I've taken the fall, but you seem to be the one suffering the consequences..." She took a step closer and reached out to touch Emma's arm. Emma flinched away almost instantly.

She was real, Emma was really standing there, looking somewhat hypnotized by her body. Her eyes looked darker than usual, but it wasn't hate... what exactly was going on? And that was when the sheriff started biting on her lower lip.

"Are you okay?" Regina asked, a smirk taking over her until then serious and somewhat annoyed face expression.

"I need a drink." Emma finally said.

"That makes two of us. Care to join me?" She almost laughed at Emma's face expression. "It's just about fair, dear. A drink for a ride." She winked. "And don't worry, no apple juice."

It had to be the heat.

Right.


End file.
